The death has taken place of former Irish Times Gaelic games correspondent Paddy Downey.
Born in 1929 in Goleen in west Cork, Downey moved to Dublin in the 1950s and was editor of the Gaelic Echo magazine before joining The Irish Times as the deputy sports editor of the Sunday Review newspaper when it launched in November 1957.
He took over as Gaelic games correspondent at the start of 1962 from Paddy Mehigan, who wrote under the pen name of ‘Pat O’, and continued in the position until his retirement in 1994, when Seán Moran took up the post.
He was one of the founding members of the All Stars in 1971 and also contributed a radio review to the newspaper in the 1970s.
GAA president Liam Ó Néill extended his sympathies and those of the Association to Paddy Downey’s family.
He said: “Paddy Downey was a legendary figure in the coverage of Gaelic games, replacing as he did Paddy Mehigan and covering the activities of the Association for more than three decades.
“His wit, eye for detail and clarity of prose regularly brought game incidents to life in print for those who had not witnessed them and his passion for football and hurling was evident to anyone who picked up his reports.
“Paddy was also instrumental in the establishment of the All Stars scheme in 1971 and was a regular attendee at our All-Ireland finals.
“He will be sorely missed and I extend my condolences to his wife Cathríona and family and Paddy’s wide circle of friends and admirers.”
“Solas na bhFlaitheas ar a anam uasal.”